World’s highest minimum wage and the unprecedented taxation in Oman

The canton of Geneva in Switzerland introduced the world’s highest minimum wage. It now stands at around 25 USD per hour and a minimum monthly salary of over 4400 USD. The high costs of living have strained the 600 000 poor Swiss (out of 8,5 million citizens) especially during the pandemic. The minimum wage in the canton was introduced as a “people’s initiative” coming from citizens. They gathered enough signatures to call a referendum, and 58 percent of the voters agreed with their proposition. Meanwhile, the U.S. Florida becomes the eight state to decide to gradually raise the hourly wage floors to 15 USD by 2026. At least 21 cities, including San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles have already reached the same level of the hourly wage floor or exceeded it.

One of Joe Biden’s proposals, raising the taxation for capital gains in the U.S., may result in lower revenue for the government, according to Brian Faler from Politico. The reason for that would be discouraging the investors from selling assets as a way of avoiding paying tax. In Oman, authorities plan to tax the highest earners by 2022. It is an unprecedented move in the Gulf –  until now countries there avoided any taxation. It comes as a countermeasure to the budget deficit, which is partially a result of low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic. Apart from that, the government plans to gradually cut the subsidies on electricity and water and remove them until 2025.